“Dear Mr. President”: The 7th grade perspective on Darfur

Students in Maryjane Gallo‘s class at Holy Cross School in Rumson recently wrote President Barack Obama dozens of letters on the situation in Africa as part of a persuasive writing assignment.

Here are some of their letters:

Dear Mr. President,

Over the past 100 years there have been many genocides all over God’s beautiful world. There is one going on right now in Africa.

Sudan is the largest country in Africa. Chad is a bordering country to the west of Sudan. In Darfur, a region about the size of Texas, people are being killed. The government of Sudan has been supporting a militia, called anjaweed.

The Janjaweed are soldiers who ride on horses, and they are sent by the government to kill these villagers. Over 400,000 people have been killed and over 2.5 million people have been displaced from their homes. The men were killed, and the women have been raped. The refugees are fleeing from Darfur to the border of Chad. Chad doesn’t want these people in their land. Refugees are to take shelter on desolate land. They need our help.

If people were dying 10 miles would you go to help? In my words, “Life is like a word search, some answers will never be found, things just happen. We can help these people in Darfur. “Do unto others as you would like them to do unto ·you.” They need our help and we can provide it. When you asked for help did that person provide for you? Let’s help our brothers and sisters in Darfur.

Sincerely,
Scott Bilotta
Dear Mr. President,

“Change”, isn’t that what you promised? Well, take action in Darfur. Make that change! They need it! End the Genocide!

In Darfur there have been approximately 400,000 deaths. Innocent civilians have been and are being slaughtered at this very moment! Women are being raped! And even burned alive! Think of the people of Darfur as if you were the president of Sudan . If these were the citizens of your country, would you take action or would you let your people die off?

We need to do something, take action. We need to donate to the cause and send people into Darfur from Iraq. Enter Darfur, take out the “Janjaweed” and stop the genocide. The Sudanese government is supporting the destruction of Darfur. China is providing funds for the Sudanese government. Then this money is being used for providing their army and weapons just to destroy Darfur! You can stop this or you can watch harmless civilians die.

I beg of you, help save Darfur and end the genocide. The innocent people ofDarfur are being killed. Please! Spare the lives of these people and their families.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Granger B. Whitelaw, Jr.
Dear Mr: President,

People are being murdered by their own government in a country called Darfur. I’m positive you’ve heard about it. Something must be done to stop this genocide.

When I heard about Darfur, I was shocked that genocide was still going on. President Bush said,” Not on my watch.” Then why are we still watching this horrible event. I thought it was time for change. Not just in our country, but in all countries. That’s America! It’s hard to believe that it’s harder there then here with our crisis that’s going on.

How could we watch and do nothing when someone is either being murdered or raped or even burned alive. We think we have it bad. We can’t send our troops into Darfur, because we are involved in Iraq, and we are hesitant to interfere with China. China supports the Sudan government. I challenge you Mr. President to do something about this. We all might think this is not our problem, but we cannot be at peace when you know someone else is suffering. At least I can’t. I thought it was time for change! We can do it!

Sincerely,
Ralph Primavera
Dear Mr. President:

Did you know that just over the past six years approximately 400,00 people were murdered in Darfur? Well I didn’t until my teacher informed me recently. Along with many other people, I was just one person who was not informed. But I believe that if you just spoke one sentence about this you could make a huge difference.

These happenings in Sudan are in fact genocide. Village vs. Village. Men
murdered, women and children raped, homes are being burned. The people
of Sudan are now living in tents that are in camps packed with hundreds of
people. Ifwe can help people that are one hundred miles away why not
300,000? We need to get in there and help them, we need to tell people
about these terrible, atrocities. We have to tell everyone all over that it’s not
right, and we need to discourage good beliefs about this, because it is horrific.

If one person can make a difference, why can’t we all? Say something to the American public about this. They deserve to know as much as the Darfuris deserve help. Have a heart, save them. You can do it. We can do it, all of us, with your help.

Sincerely,
Francesca Abruzzo
Dear Mr. President:

All people are flesh, blood, and spirit. Why are innocent people dying in Darfur, Sudan today on your watch? This genocide has approximately killed 400,000 people and has displaced approximately 2.5 million from their homes.

Some people might ask, “What is Darfur or who is Darfur?” It is a region in Sudan where the genocide began in 2003. There are two groups of Muslins: the Arabs herders and the non-Arab Africans fanners fighting over arable land. The president of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, is Arab and supported the Arab militia, the Janjaweed, to kill the non-Arabs. Some fled to refugee camps but the Janjaweed would loot and bum their villages.

Americans cannot ignore the fact that people are suffering in Darfur as they did during the Armenia, the Holocaust, the Cambodian, the Bosnian, and the Rwandan genocides. China is supporting the Sudan government only for oil. “God is amplifying their voices and we are not listening! ”

We all must take action for this cause. What can be done for the genocide to stop? Mr. President, expand security for the safety of aid workers and peacekeeping forces. Encourage a no fly-zone in the area where the Janjaweed are attacking. If the no fly-zone is violated the planes would be destroyed.

The U.S. government needs to educate the American citizens about the suffering in Darfur now in this “Age of Change”. It needs to be learned in all age groups to show how this genocide against the farmers needs to be stopped once and for all. Americans need your support to help these people and to stop the killing of innocent people. It’s our responsibility to end this now!